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Belcher and Ryan win 470 World Championship

SAILING: Australia’s
Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan have kept their winning run alive with their
biggest victory yet, claiming the 2013 470 World Championship in France.

On the one-year
anniversary of Belcher’s gold medal win with Malcolm Page at the London 2012
Olympic Games the 30-year-old added another major title to his name, winning
the World Championship alongside new crew Will Ryan.

The victory
extends Belcher’s winning run to 17 straight regattas, stretching back to
November 2011, with the last nine being alongside Ryan.

Belcher also
became the first sailor to win four straight 470 World Championships, with 2013
marking the 50th anniversary of the class.

“It’s a bit
surreal to win four World Championships in a row and wasn’t something that I
had thought too much about before,” said Belcher. “It’s unbelievable how
quickly Will and I have stepped up to the level that Mal and I had.

“It’s a real
credit to Will, I was quite relaxed this week having been in this position a
number of times before but this is his first World Championship win,” he said.
“He was very calm during the critical moments on the water and I’m really happy
that I can share this moment with him.”

The pair went
into the eight-boat medal race seven points ahead of the second placed Greek
team with the final race held in moderate conditions in La Rochelle.

“It was a good
day on the water for us, to be honest there was a bit of relief at the end of
it,” said Belcher. “We needed to stay near the Greeks throughout the race to
make sure we won and fortunately they made a slight error at the start and we
just followed them out there.

“We both ended
up towards the back of the fleet which was ideal for us as we crossed the line
sixth to take the title,” he said. “We had some really difficult conditions
this week and we didn’t perform at our best the entire time but a lot of the
top crews were in the same position.

“With the
pressure of a World Championship and the 50th anniversary of
the class there was a lot on this week and Will, Victor and I are very happy to
have come away with the win,” said Belcher.

After a busy
year the pair are now looking forward to some time off, with Belcher and wife
Rike expecting their first child next month, before getting back into the boat
to prepare for the Australian season.

In the women’s
fleet Elise Rechichi and Sarah Cook finished eighth overall, an impressive
result in their first World Championship together.

The pair headed
into the medal race in sixth position following a great penultimate day on the
water where they recorded a first and a second.

Rechichi and
Cook crossed the line seventh in a tight final, to finish the event eighth
overall.